Author's note:
The setting for this story could prove disturbing or challenging to many readers. I make no apology for that; how you respond is entirely your choice. However, I hasten to add that the story is not based on any sect, cult or other group, nor is any offence directed at any group in particular or towards groups of this nature in general. The story is entirely fictitious and bears no relationship to any group or organization to my knowledge,
I have based the story on the song "Master Jack" whose lyrics were written by David Marks, the original song being released in South Africa in 1967 by Four Jacks and a Jill. I have attempted to interpret the message from this song since then and note that there are a variety of interpretations described in various pages accessible through Google. The interpretation I have placed upon the lyrics is a fictitious account and is not derived from any ideas recorded online of which I am aware.
As usual, I do not condone, approve of or suggest that any activity depicted in this story is attempted in real life. It is, as I say, fiction and nobody in the story is based on or is meant to represent any person in real life. Any such likeness is purely coincidental.
Other than that, enjoy.
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I sat in the shop doorway, tears running down my cheeks. I wanted to die. I'd tried several times. Once I'd even got to standing on the rail of a bridge, but then chickened out and climbed back down. I ran in front of a truck, but he just swerved, slowed, swore at me then drove on. I wanted to die but didn't know how to make it quick and painless. I was hungry; hadn't eaten today and it was nearly dark now, and raining. I thought back to how I'd been thrown out of home when my parents found me nearly naked with my boyfriend Eldred. Didn't they realize I was an adult and could do what I wanted? Didn't they know that I was responsible for myself and nothing was going to happen because I was saving my virginity for when I was married? Eldred's parents had reluctantly allowed me to stay with him and for a few days it was great, until they found us smoking weed. Then I'd been kicked out and he'd been banned from seeing me again. Old people are so narrow-minded!
So here I was, nowhere to live, no boyfriend or friends at all for that matter, parents disowned me; what was there left in life? I watched a bus go past, splashing water onto the sidewalk, grateful for the small mercy that it had not reached my doorway, but bending my legs just in case the next one splashed further. I rested my head on my arms across my knees and closed my eyes, going to my happy place: sunshine, white sand, seabirds circling, lapping waves on the beach, a beautiful spot which, maybe, one day, I'd find in reality. I felt rather than saw someone sit beside me, not touching me, just sitting, silently, waiting, like me. Another reject of society, maybe. I opened one eye and looked furtively. It was a woman, about 20ish I guess, kindly looking, not threatening in any way. I raised my head and looked at her directly.
"Hi," she said, "I'm Adele. What's your name?"
"Elizabeth."
"That's a beautiful name. So, what's a sad Elizabeth doing sitting on a pavement in a doorway on a night like this?"
"Waiting."
"Waiting for what?"
"I don't know. Waiting to die, I guess."
"That bad, huh."
"No. Worse."
"So, let's figure this out. You haven't eaten all day, you're cold, lonely, have no place to go, nobody loves you, you've got no friends, no-one to turn to, no idea what to do and you haven't even got the guts to kill yourself. That about sum it up?"
"Yeah, you got it figured out right. How'd you know?"
"I was there about a year ago too. It's not a good place, eh. Much better where I am now."
I sat a little straighter. I believe that sometimes the perfect person comes at just the right time. Maybe this was happening now.
"So where are you now?"
"I live at the Heart and Soul Community. It's a group of people like you who have lost their way. It's run by Master Jack, who takes care of us, feeds us, clothes us, provides us with comfortable accommodation, loves us and in return teaches us to do meaningful work for him and, through him, for God. It really is a wonderful place to recover from the trials of life."
"So, they'd take on a person like me then?"
"They'd welcome you with open arms. You'd have time to recover, to find out who you really are, to enjoy life, to be loved by lots of people. Oh, and the meals are great too; you'd probably be put in the kitchen for a while and you'd be taught to cook lovely food."
I felt my hungry stomach rumble at the mention of food.
"So how do I get to this place?"
"That's the easy part. I'll be collected in a few minutes from just down the road. I was on my way there when I saw you. Do you wanna come too?"
I knew I had to make up my mind quickly, like, now, and that if I rejected this offer then I would stay where I was, possibly for the night. It was the only offer on the table, so it didn't take me long to decide.
"Ok, I'll come with you. But am I able to leave whenever I want?"
"Absolutely. You're not kidnapped or anything like that. We're all totally free to choose to do whatever we want to do, within certain limits, of course, we're all there as a community so we all need to pull together and take our share of the necessary workload. But I'm sure you'll love it and the people there will love you too. Come on, let's go or we'll be late and they don't like us being late."
She stood up and held out her hand, which I took and also stood, my joints protesting after several hours sitting on the hard pavement. A short walk brought us to the corner, where a few minutes later a car pulled over and we crammed into the rear seat. I was jammed between Adele and another girl about my age.
"Rachel, this is Elizabeth," Adele introduced us, then also introduced Hazel and the driver Tony, in the front seats. They all said they were pleased to meet me and Rachel began quizzing me about my history while the front seat occupants listened in to my story. They were encouraging about the community, telling me what a wonderful place it is but seeming strangely reluctant to go into any detail.
"The details come later," explained Rachel, "After you've been there for a while and been accepted by the group. Sometimes people can be very strange about communities such as ours, so we always have to be wary of newcomers because they may have been sent by the Devil himself to try to close down Master Jack's good work."
I agreed that this could be a possibility, knowing little about religion and God and the Devil. The warmth of the people in the car, as well as the warmer temperature, lulled me into a sense of security and drowsiness, so I lost track of where we were heading and after a while, we pulled up a driveway and stopped in front of a gate. Hazel opened the gate and Tony drove us through, collected Hazel, then continued up a long driveway to the community buildings. There we climbed out of the car and Adele took my hand and led me inside.
We entered a large dining room where many people were milling about, apparently waiting for us as, once we'd arrived, a tall, distinguished looking man rang a bell and instantly there was silence.
"Welcome, newcomer, please come forward and allow Adele to introduce you."
Adele retained her grip on my hand and together we walked to the front of the room where she introduced me first to Master Jack and then to the whole group. Master Jack embraced me, then the whole group of people spoke in unison.
"Welcome to the Heart and Soul Community, Elizabeth."
I heard myself reply "Thank you." then Adele led me to the servery where delicious looking food was dished out onto plates. We took a plate each and Adele led me to the long table and had me take a place on the right-hand side of Master Jack.
"Tonight, you're a celebrity," she whispered to me, "Enjoy it. When a new person arrives in the community, we consider it a gift from God so for the first meal that person is treated like royalty."
We sat and waited as each person in turn took a plate then found a seat at the table, all in an eerie silence. Once everyone was seated, Master Jack stood, said a prayer to bless the meal, then we all started eating and apparently talking was also permitted.
"I'll be very interested to hear your story tomorrow," said Master Jack, smiling gently at me, "I'm sure it will be interesting to see how God has directed you to come here."
"Thank you. I'll also be interested in hearing how this community works. Adele told me a very small amount about it, so I'll be fascinated to hear the details from its leader."
Master Jack turned away to talk with the person on his left and Adele and I chatted as we ate. Once the first course was completed, I felt more or less human once again, and was both pleased and surprised when dessert was announced. Once again Adele and I followed Master Jack to the head of the line and returned with plates full of fruit topped with ice cream. Once completed, we returned our dishes to the washing servery, then Master Jack spoke quietly with Adele.
"Master Jack has told me that you'll be sharing my room tonight. Come and I'll show you where it is."
We walked outside to another building, apparently a dormitory of sorts, then to a room with a king size bed and an attached bathroom. It seemed quite luxurious but I was wondering about sleeping in the same bed as another woman.
"Oh, there's plenty of space really," replied Adele when I asked about it, "We all sleep with another person in king size beds. It's just fortunate that my partner was moved a couple of days ago."
I thought this a little strange, but as the saying goes, when in Rome do as the Romans do. Adele explained the schedule for each day, emphasizing that lights out meant no sound and lights out was at 11pm. We would be woken at 7am, then have some exercise from 7.30 to 8am, breakfast, then we would have our chores for each day. She explained that some people were taken to the city, where they collected money for the community as well as seeing if there were any waifs and strays who needed rescuing, as had happened to me last night.